1st Made-in-India Helmet To Meet European Safety Standards Launched: Here's Why You Should Care

Indian helmet manufacturer Steelbird recently launched the Ignyte IGN-7 range of helmets, India's first made-in-India helmet to meet the latest ECE 22.06 safety standards. Here's why it's important and why you should care. 

Key Features of IGN-7:

• Price starting at Rs 6,199 onwards 

• Multi-layer and -density EPS liners 

• Factory fitted PINLOCK 70 anti-Fog lens

• Visor is also ECE 22.06 certified

• Double D-ring (makes it legal for track riding)

• DOT ECE & ISI certified 

• Multiple visor + liner options

Recently the Indian government levied a ban on imported helmets, which was a big blow to the motoring community. A motorcycle helmet is the most primary of safety gears a motorcyclist is mandated to wear, it keeps your noggin safe in case of a crash. Most imported brands like AGV, Arai, Shark etc meet stringent international safety ratings like ECE and Snell. These safety regulations have been around for decades and demand helmets to be rigorously tested for slow-speed impact protection under varied parameters before earning a certification. And these helmets were banned because they didn't carry the less strict BIS (ISI - Indian safety standards) certificate. 

This naturally created a shortfall in safe helmets and an influx in relatively substandard, locally produced helmets to fill up the shelves. One could find decent helmets from international brands like MT and SMK who applied for homologation and met ECE 22.05/06 standards, but now Steelbird is here with an affordable made-in-India alternative. Which is a big step towards India as a market looking at safety more seriously. But what makes this helmet more special is that it meets the latest ECE 22.06 standards. 

ECE regulations are motorcycle safety standards set by the United Nations Economics Commission for Europe (UNECE) and are responsible for overseeing ECE laws. The UNECE works with nations all across the world, including Canada and the USA, so its activity is not just focused on Europe.

The current road-legal motorcycle helmet safety standard, ECE 22.05, is replaced by ECE 22.06, since ECE 22.05 has been in use for about 20 years, and a revision was long overdue. In the previous ECE 22.05 standard, there were 5 impact points on which the tests were conducted. On the other hand, in 22.06, there are now 18 impact points, and the speed at which the tests were conducted in 22.05 was only 7.5 m/s; in 22.06, the testing speeds are now 6, 7.5, and 8.2 m/s.

If India will be deprived of quality international gear, as bikers, we demand more local manufacturers up their game and roll out helmets that meet international standards. Now we're not saying making a helmet like Arai does is easy, it's been making safety helmets of the highest level for decades now. But unless Indian manufacturers do not try to invest in quality materials, strong R&D and bespoke design and home, the need to look outside will always remain. Thankfully, Steelbird’s new helmet is one step in achieving the goal of offering the best of protection when it comes to riding safely.